Introduction
Pregnant women are vulnerable to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection. Neutralizing antibodies against the SARS‐CoV‐2 spike (S) protein protect from ...severe disease. This study analyzes the antibody titers to SARS‐CoV‐2 S protein in pregnant women and their newborns at delivery, and six months later.
Methods
We conducted a prospective study on pregnant women with confirmed SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and newborns. Antibody (IgG, IgM, and IgA) titers were determined using immunoassays in serum and milk samples. An angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor‐binding inhibition assay to the S protein was performed on the same serum and milk samples.
Results
At birth, antibodies to SARS‐CoV‐2 spike protein were detected in 81.9% of mothers' sera, 78.9% of cord blood samples, and 63.2% of milk samples. Symptomatic women had higher antibody titers (IgG, IgM, and IgA) than the asymptomatic ones (P < 0.05). At six months postpartum, IgG levels decreased drastically in children's serum (P < 0.001) but remained high in mothers' serum. Antibody titers correlated positively with its capacity to inhibit the ACE2–spike protein interaction at baseline in maternal sera (R2 = 0.203; P < 0.001), cord sera (R2 = 0.378; P < 0.001), and milk (R2 = 0.564; P < 0.001), and at six months in maternal sera (R2 = 0.600; P < 0.001).
Conclusions
High antibody levels against SARS‐CoV‐2 spike protein were found in most pregnant women. Due to the efficient transfer of IgG to cord blood and high IgA titers in breast milk, neonates may be passively immunized to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. Our findings could guide newborn management and maternal vaccination policies.
Background and Objectives
The optimal lung volume strategy during high‐frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) is reached by performing recruitment maneuvers, usually guided by the response in ...oxygenation. In animal models, secondary spontaneous change in oscillation pressure amplitude (ΔPhf) associated with a progressive increase in mean airway pressure during HFOV combined with volume guarantee (HFOV‐VG) identifies optimal lung recruitment. The aim of this study was to describe recruitment maneuvers in HFOV‐VG and analyze whether changes in ΔPhf might be an early predictor for lung recruitment in newborn infants with severe respiratory failure.
Design and Methods
The prospective observational study was done in a tertiary‐level neonatology department. Changes in ΔPhf were analyzed during standardized lung recruitment after initiating early rescue HFOV‐VG in preterm infants with severe respiratory failure.
Results
Twenty‐seven patients were included, with a median gestational age of 24 weeks (interquartile range IQR: 23–25). Recruitment maneuvers were performed, median baseline mean airway pressure (mPaw) was 11 cm H2O (IQR: 10–13), median critical lung opening mPaw during recruitment was 14 cm H2O (IRQ: 12–16), and median optimal mPaw was 12 cm H2O (IQR: 10–14, p < 0.01). Recruitment maneuvers were associated with an improvement in oxygenation (FiO2: 65.0 vs. 45.0, p < 0.01, SpO2/FiO2 ratio: 117 vs. 217, p < 0.01). ΔPhf decreased significantly after lung recruitment (mean amplitude: 23.0 vs. 16.0, p < 0.01).
Conclusion
In preterm infants with severe respiratory failure, the lung recruitment process can be effectively guided by ΔPhf on HFOV‐VG.
Abstract
Background
It is known that SARS-CoV-2 antibodies from pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy cross the placenta but the duration and the protective effect of these ...antibodies in infants is scarce.
Methods
This prospective study included mothers with SARS-COV-2 infection during pregnancy and their infants from April 2020 to March 2021. IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein were performed on women and infants at birth and at two and six months during follow-up. Anthropometrical measures and physical and neurological examinations and a clinical history of symptoms and COVID-19 diagnosis were collected. Simple linear regression was performed to compare categorical and continuous variables. To compare the mother’s and infant’s antibody titers evolution, a mixed linear regression model was used. A predictive model of newborn antibody titers at birth has been established by means of simple stepwise linear regression.
Results
51 mother-infant couples were included. 45 (90%) of the mothers and 44 (86.3%) of the newborns had a positive serology al birth. These antibodies were progressively decreasing and were positive in 34 (66.7%) and 7 (13.7%) of infants at 2 and 6 months, respectively. IgG titers of newborns at birth were related to mothers’ titers, with a positive moderate correlation (Pearson’s correlation coefficient: 0.82, p < 0,001). Fetal/maternal antibodies placental transference rate was 1.3 (IQR: 0.7–2.2). The maternal IgG titers at delivery and the type of maternal infection (acute, recent, or past infection) was significantly related with infants’ antibody titers at birth. No other epidemiological or clinical factors were related to antibodies titers. Neurodevelopment, psychomotor development, and growth were normal in 94.2% of infants in the third follow-up visit. No infants had a COVID-19 diagnosis during the follow-up period.
Conclusions
Transplacental transfer of maternal antibodies is high in newborns from mothers with recent or past infection at delivery, but these antibodies decrease after the first months of life. Infant’s IgG titers were related to maternal IgG titers at delivery. Further studies are needed to learn about the protective role of maternal antibodies in infants.
SARS-CoV2 infection in pregnancy and exposed newborns is poorly known. We performed a longitudinal analysis of immune system and determined soluble cytokine levels in pregnant women infected with ...SARS-CoV2 and in their newborns. Women with confirmed SARS-CoV2 infection and their exposed uninfected newborns were recruited from Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), cord cells and plasma were collected at birth and 6 months later. Immunophenotyping of natural killer (NK), monocytes and CD4/CD8 T-cells were studied in cryopreserved PBMCs and cord cells by multiparametric flow cytometry. Up to 4 soluble pro/anti-inflammatory cytokines were assessed in plasma/cord plasma by ELISA assay. SARS-CoV2-infected mothers and their newborns were compared to matched healthy non-SARS-CoV2-infected mothers and their newborns. The TNFα and IL-10 levels of infected mothers were higher at baseline than those of healthy controls. Infected mothers showed increased NK cells activation and reduced expression of maturation markers that reverted after 6 months. They also had high levels of Central Memory and low Effector Memory CD4-T cell subsets. Additionally, the increased CD4- and CD8-T cell activation (CD154 and CD38) and exhaustion (TIM3/TIGIT) levels at baseline compared to controls remained elevated after 6 months. Regarding Treg cells, the levels were lower at infected mothers at baseline but reverted after 6 months. No newborn was infected at birth. The lower levels of monocytes, NK and CD4-T cells observed at SARS-CoV2-exposed newborns compared to unexposed controls significantly increased 6 months later. In conclusion, SARS-CoV2 infection during pregnancy shows differences in immunological components that could lead newborns to future clinical implications after birth. However, SARS-CoV2 exposed 6-months-old newborns showed no immune misbalance, whereas the infected mothers maintain increased activation and exhaustion levels in T-cells after 6 months.
The aim of this study was to analyze patients diagnosed with chylothorax after congenital heart disease surgery among a cohort of neonatal patients, comparing the evolution, complications, and ...prognosis after surgery of patients who were and were not diagnosed with chylothorax, and to analyze possible risk factors that may predict the appearance of chylothorax in this population. Retrospective and observational study included all neonates (less than 30 days since birth) who underwent congenital heart disease surgery in a level III neonatal intensive care department. We included infants born between January 2014 and December 2019. We excluded those infants who were born before 34 weeks of gestational age or whose birth weight was less than 1800 g. We also excluded catheter lab procedures and patent ductus arteriosus closure surgeries. Included patients were divided into two groups depending on whether they were diagnosed with chylothorax or not after surgery, and both groups were compared in terms of perinatal-obstetrical information, surgical data, and NICU course after surgery. We included 149 neonates with congenital heart disease surgery. Thirty-one patients (20.8%) developed chylothorax, and in ten patients (32.3%), it was considered large volume chylothorax. Regarding the evolution of these patients, 22 infants responded to general dietetic measures, a catheter procedure was performed in 9, and 5 of them finally required pleurodesis. Cardiopulmonary bypass, median sternotomy, and delayed sternal closure were the surgical variables associated with higher risks of chylothorax. Patients with chylothorax had a longer duration of inotropic support and mechanical ventilation and took longer to reach full enteral feeds. As complications, they had higher rates of cholestasis, catheter-related sepsis, and venous thrombosis. Although there were no differences in neonatal mortality, patients with chylothorax had a higher rate of mortality after the neonatal period. In a multiple linear regression model, thrombosis and cardiopulmonary bypass multiplied by 10.0 and 5.1, respectively, the risk of chylothorax and have an umbilical vein catheter decreases risk.
Conclusion
: We have found a high incidence of chylothorax after neonatal cardiac surgery, which prolongs the average stay and causes significant morbidity and mortality. We suggested that chylothorax could be an underestimated complication of congenital heart disease surgery during the neonatal period.
What is Known:
• Acquired chylothorax in the neonatal period usually appears as a complication of congenital heart disease surgery, being the incidence quite variable among the different patient series (2.5–16.8%). The appearance of chylothorax as a complication of a cardiac surgery increases both mortality and morbidity in these patients, which makes it a quality improvement target in the postsurgical management of this population.
What is New:
•Most of the published studies include pediatric patients of all ages, from newborns to teenagers, and there is a lack of studies focusing on neonatal populations. The main strength of our study is that it reports, to the best of our knowledge, one of the largest series of neonatal patients receiving surgery for congenital heart disease in the first 30 days after birth. We have found a high incidence of chylothorax after cardiac surgery during the neonatal period compared to other studies. We suggested that chylothorax could be an underestimated complication of congenital heart disease surgery during this period of life.
Knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy and newborns is scarce. The objective of this study is to analyse clinical and epidemiological characteristics of a cohort of women infected with ...SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy and their newborns exposed to SARS-CoV-2 during gestation.
Multicentric observational study of Spanish hospitals from the GESNEO-COVD cohort, participants in RECLIP (Spanish Network of Paediatric Clinical Assays). Women with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection by PCR and/or serology during pregnancy, diagnosed and delivering during the period 15/03/2020-31/07/2020 were included. Epidemiological, clinical, and analytical data was collected.
A total of 105 pregnant women with a median of 34.1 years old (IQR: 28.8-37.1) and 107 newborns were included. Globally, almost 65% of pregnant women had some COVID-19 symptoms and more than 43% were treated for SARS-COV-2. Overall, 30.8% of pregnant women had pneumonia and 5 (4.8%) women were admitted to the intensive care unit needing invasive mechanical ventilation. There was a rate of 36.2% of caesarean sections, which was associated with pneumonia during pregnancy (OR: 4.203, CI 95%: 1.473-11.995) and lower gestational age at delivery (OR: 0.724, CI 95%: 0.578-0.906). The prevalence of preterm birth was 20.6% and prematurity was associated with pneumonia during gestation (OR: 6.970, CI95%: 2.340-22.750) and having a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR at delivery (OR: 6.520, CI95%: 1.840-31.790). All nasopharyngeal PCR in newborns were negative at birth and one positivized at 15 days of life. Two newborns died, one due to causes related to prematurity and another of unexpected sudden death during early skin-to-skin contact after delivery.
Although vertical transmission has not been reported in this cohort, the prognosis of newborns could be worsened by SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy as COVID-19 pneumonia increased the risk of caesarean section deliveries and preterm births.
La repercusión de la infección materna por SARS-CoV-2 y su riesgo de transmisión vertical es aún poco conocido. Las recomendaciones de las sociedades científicas buscan proporcionar seguridad para el ...recién nacido sin comprometer los beneficios del contacto precoz. El objetivo del estudio es describir las características y la evolución de recién nacidos de madres infectadas por SARS-CoV-2, así como las medidas implementadas siguiendo las recomendaciones de la Sociedad Española de Neonatología.
Estudio observacional, prospectivo y unicentro de cohortes. Se diseñó un circuito específico para madres con infección por SARS-CoV-2 y sus hijos. Se recogieron datos epidemiológicos y clínicos de las madres y sus recién nacidos. Se realizó PCR al nacer y a los 14 días.
Se incluyeron 73 madres y 75 neonatos. El 95,9% de infecciones maternas fueron diagnosticadas durante el tercer trimestre, el 43,8% fueron asintomáticas. La mediana de edad gestacional fue de 38 semanas (RIC: 37-40), el 25,9% de los neonatos requirió ingreso. En el 68% se realizó contacto piel con piel en paritorio y el 80% recibieron lactancia materna o donada exclusiva durante su estancia. No se objetivaron resultados positivos de PCR en la primera muestra obtenida nada más nacer, se objetivó un caso de PCR positiva en un neonato asintomático a los 14 días.
El riesgo de transmisión de la infección por SARS-CoV-2 es bajo cumpliendo los protocolos de la Sociedad Española de Neonatología, permitiendo el alojamiento conjunto de madre e hijo, el contacto precoz y el establecimiento eficaz de la lactancia materna.
The impact of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection and its risk of vertical transmission is still not well known. Recommendations from scientific societies seek to provide safety for newborns without compromising the benefits of early contact. The aim of the study is to describe characteristics and evolution of newborns born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as the implemented measures following recommendations from the Sociedad Española de Neonatología.
Observational, prospective and single-center cohort study. A specific circuit was designed for mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection and their newborns. Epidemiological and clinical data were collected. PCR were performed in newborns at delivery and at 14 days of age.
73 mothers and 75 newborns were included in the study. 95.9% of maternal infections were diagnosed during the third trimester of pregnancy, 43.8% were asymptomatic. Median gestational age was 38 weeks (IQR: 37-40), 25.9% of newborns required admission to Neonatology. Skin-to-skin mother care was performed in 68% of newborns, 80% received exclusive maternal or donated breast milk during hospital stay. No positive PCR results were observed in newborns at delivery, one case of positive PCR was observed in an asymptomatic neonate at 14 days of age.
Risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is low when complying to the recommendations issued by Sociedad Española de Neonatología, allowing rooming-in and promoting breastfeeding.
PDF
